Two years after their fine debut album, SiX by SiX — Saga guitarist Ian Crichton, Saxon drummer Nigel Glockler and veteran vocalist/bassist/keyboardist/arranger Robert Berry — release their sophomore effort Beyond Shadowland on April 26th. The 11 new tracks hit hard and strong, stretching out in an eclectic variety of directions but always stuffed full of upbeat lyrics, killer melodic hooks, thrillingly crunchy guitar work, and tough, grounded percussive grooves.

What with the pre-release singles “The Arms of a Word” and “Obiliex” – the pronunciation of the latter somehow becoming a running gag below) already out in the wild, Robert Berry – who I first interviewed in 2022 – was ready and eager to talk about the band’s working process, their hopes for the new album, and their coalescing plans for live work! (One confirmed live date was announced after our time together, at New Jersey’s annual ProgStock festival in October.) As before, Berry proved gracious, genial, and genuinely interested in my reactions to SiX by SiX’s latest material. The video of this interview is right below, with a transcript plus the videos of the singles following the jump.

So – two years on, SiX by SiX has its second album coming out, Beyond Shadowland!  When did you decide, or how did you decide to push on with a follow-up?

First of all, it’s good to see you again – even though you’re wearing an ELP jacket, I believe!

There aren’t any SiX by SiX jackets yet!

No, I’m OK with it, I’m just kidding, come on!  Those guys made my career, come on!  [Laughs]

Anyway, the band when we first started was a band, not a project.  We decided right off the bat that we all wanted to do something different than what we were doing with our other bands.  And going into the first album, we knew there’d be two and a third album, since we signed a three-record deal.  And after the success of the first album, we were so thrilled with that and the comments and how people felt about it, that it really excited us to get the second one out!  You know, now we’re planning a tour, so there you go!

Well, we’ll talk about that later, cause that’s definitely exciting news!  What did you see as the main challenge before you when you started work on the second album?

[Laughs] Oh, man, that’s a loaded question!  You hit me right between the eyes with that! 

Here’s how the band works.  I believe that we have one of the greatest guitar players that has ever been.  There’s like ten guys that you can tell their style right away when you hear them on the radio, not even knowing who it is.  Ian Crichton’s one of them.  So, I believe that all songs have the spark from these little guitar pieces he sends me, these pieces of genius – little snippets, a verse, whatever it is, a hook.

And he sent me a few things, and I started to make the songs and glue – make up all the other parts a song needs as a song being written.  Sent it back to him, and he called me.  He goes, “Boy, this isn’t as good as the first album, is it?” [Laughs]

Right?  Cause we had this expectation we had put on ourselves – we have to better the first album!  Everybody’s sophomore album, if you like Journey – they put out the second album, it’s the same as the first album, there’s different songs!  And I love Journey, but that style stays the same.  And we wanted to evolve, we didn’t want to make the same album twice.

So, I thought about it.  “Ian, you know why?  Because you haven’t worked on it again!  I took your parts, I did all this other stuff.  Now you need to get into it and stir up the stew!”  And he did that and sent it back to me and I said, “Ah, this isn’t as good as the first album yet!”Now this is just the songwriting part, right? 

So I thought, “OK, listen to my own words!”  One of things I love to say is it’s easier to fix an idea than to get one.  So we had an idea, we both are trying to fix it.  I got the next version writing-wise, sent it back to him, he goes, “This is great!”  So we had two songs at that point we did that way, and it sparked the rest of the album to be what it became.  Which is, I think, a heavier album than the first album.  But it was tough to start; we felt the pressure of the success from the first one, and didn’t wanna make the first one over again, right?  If that explains it; I hope it does.

I think it does!  And I also understand that Nigel was involved in the creative process this time.  What part did he play?

The first time around we had eight songs written and said, “we better get a drummer; this is really good!” I said “I gotta call Nigel,” and he immediately said, “Yes, I’m in!”

This one I said, “We gotta start writing” and he said, “I got a couple of things to send ya!”  And he sent me one of the band’s favorites, which is called “Titans”.  And the funny thing is we really like it, but no one’s mentioned it – management, record company, at all.  So evidently they don’t know what it’s all about!  It’s really different.

But he and I worked on these songs, and Ian got involved and worked on them.  It’s a fresh corner of SiX by SiX sound; it’s a little bit different; more rocking.  Whatever it is that Nigel brings to it, he’s not especially just a heavy metal guy.  He likes techno, he likes progressive.  He brought that to it, and it gave us one more dimension to our sound that we’re really happy with, and we think is gonna sound really good live too, that energy.

I was gonna mention to you that I’ve heard the album a couple of times now, and “Titans” is kind of where it takes off for parts unknown.  And I’m going, “Huh!  They haven’t done this before!”

It was risky, but putting out the second single – which we all say differently!  I say OB-il-i-ex, cause that’s how it’s spelled.  Ian says, OB-li-ex, and I said,”there’s no L after the B.”  “OB-li-ex, but that’s the title!  No one’s gonna say it that way!” 

But putting out a slow song second, we said “People aren’t gonna expect that; I wonder how that’s gonna go?”  And it’s gone really well; the comments on that song have been so wonderful.  And I’m thinking “Titans” is gonna get the same kind of thing.  Interesting song; it’s got this beat.  You hear it live and the audience is singing along and the whole thing.  It’s very much different for us.

It’s kind of like a stadium chant, isn’t it?

Exactly!  And it’s a weird stadium chant! [Laughs]  We’ll have to put up the lyric sheets at the front of the stage for anybody to remember how to say it!

[Laughs]  OK, cool!  Sounds like the songwriting was similar, but went some different directions from the first one.  Was it similar with the recording process?  Because I know the last time, due to COVID, it was mostly file-sharing, although I know Nigel did some tracking in the studio.  Was it similar this time around?

It’s sort of similar.  The writing is done like you and I are speaking now; you could be in the room and our conversation be no different, right?  We’re seeing each other here; you’re seeing my wall, I’m seeing your bookshelves.  It’s real time.  So the writing is no problem that way.

Ian actually came in, and Nigel came in for the drums, but on the first one Nigel did all the drums here.  Ian only did a few guitar parts here.  We worked more as a band on this one from the onset of the writing.  I guess that’s the main difference, but it’s basically the same process.

OK.

Ian was just here, by the way – we’re doing a video, he just flew in, and he’s gone now.  He comes in and Nigel comes in, although Nigel’s on a stadium tour, so he couldn’t come in right now.  We’re committed to being together, being a band, so that’s the main thing.  How that happens is different every day.

Understood.  So, let’s talk a little bit more about the singles.  I’m gonna say “Ob-IL-i-ex” cause that’s how it’s spelled, sort of.  Might not be how it’s pronounced. 

See, there’s a third!  It’s the only song that everybody’s gonna say a different way, but they’ll know what they’re talking about.  It’s kind weird!

And as you say, that’s got an acoustic vibe to it.  The first one, “The Arms of the Word,” that struck me as being harder and heavier than what was on the first album, for the most part.

Interesting enough, I have to say that everybody says, “Arms of THE Word,” even the record company printed it wrong at first.  It’s “Arms of a Word”.  Because “Arms of the Word” sounds like the Bible, the Word, right?  Not that I’m against that, but this song isn’t about that.  It’s about the clickbait, the hate speech, the kindness that we can head towards.  So it doesn’t have a religious connotation; it’s about how powerful words can be.  But they don’t have to be powerful in a mean or a fighting sense.  Just in a warm and peaceful sense they’re powerful.  Just so you know.

Thanks for that.  One of the things I remember from the last time we talked is that you definitely want to stretch out beyond the stereotypical prog audience.  The audience that maybe you garnered back in the 80s when you were in 3 with Keith [Emerson] and Carl [Palmer].  Have you seen any indications that that’s happening with these songs?

You know, it’s hard for us to tell.  We see the comments on things like YouTube, which are really, really great comments.  And “OB-li-ex”, to say it as Ian says it, isn’t progressive at all!  It has a little bit of a time change in the middle.  And everybody that I know that’s in the fanbase is really loving that song.  “Arms of a Word,” like you said yourself, is heavier; it’s more toward the hard rock end, not really the metal end; the comments were really good.

It’s funny; I feel like the prog audience is more open.  Like, in the 80s they weren’t open at all.  We were doing what Asia and Yes were doing; more of a song oriented progressive sound.  They were so critical of Keith.  Now the prog audience is exactly that, they’re progressive; they like a little bit of everything.  They like Dream Theater, even though it’s so hard to listen to, it’s so complex.  And they like the new Yes, which is not all that complicated, and a little syrupy next to the old Yes.  Cause without [late bassist] Chris Squire,  without Keith Emerson, how do you have that amazingly tough and biting keyboard stuff?  You don’t; nobody does it.  And they’re more open to all kinds of music now.  That to me is what progressive rock is.  It’s a little jazzy, a little classical; it’s a little heavy.  It has choruses a lot of times.  I feel like the audience is accepting this.  To be honest with you, and I have to be honest, I’ve already forgot the question, cause I’m rambling on! [Laughs]

Just to remind you; I remembered what you said was that you wanted to appeal to the audience that Rush was able to appeal to toward the tail end of their career.  Where you had guys and gals there; you had young and old.  You had people who weren’t hung up on “well, it’s not in the style I prefer, but this is really good!”

The only thing that has changed is – I don’t care about the guys so much; I want the women to like us! [Both laugh].  No, you’re exactly right.

Rush is the perfect example, not because they’re a three-piece band, but because I don’t really consider them a prog band.  I’m not sure what they are.  They’re a rock band with this great sound, and they use some progressive stuff.  And their audience is super wide.  I go to a Rush concert, half of them are women are there, and they’re into their lyrics, the meaning of the song.  And that’s what I hope happens for us, that they get into the depth of the music. 

And then, of course, you get into the depth of what Ian does on guitar; it’s way past the first listen.  I’ve talked about this before: a normal song, if it’s a verse, then the second verse will have the same guitar part.  Not from Ian Crichton!  He’s doing something different.  And it still supports the verse; it feels the same, like it’s the second verse.  But the guitar’s different; it’s amazing how he does it!  I don’t know what it is.

I think some of that – I’m sure your arranging plays a part, too.  But you’re right; Ian’s guitar parts are five, six, seven layers deep.

Yeah!  Definitely.  And [pause] I can’t explain it.  I don’t know how he does it!  Most of that stuff is written at his home studio.  He probably sits there – I don’t know. I just don’t know how he does it!  I couldn’t do that!  If I do a song, the chorus of a song, the next time the chorus comes around, it’s the same kind of music supporting it.  It’s the chorus, right?  It repeats; that’s the hook.  Not Ian; he wants it to repeat and he wants the hook to happen with a different thing happening underneath it, that still supports it 110 percent like the first chorus supported it.  Hard to explain, but I think you understand what I mean.

Well, what I hear in your voice is just awe at the limitless imagination he has.

Yeah!  And here’s the other part of that.  If Nigel didn’t have the feel and the groove and the thing that laid the foundation for the house, Ian wouldn’t sound so good on the top of it.  But there’s something in a guy that can play all kinds of drums but plays for the song and has – it’s not soulful, but it’s like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”.  It’s just doom, chuck, doom, chuck and that comes on and you think, “listen to the feel of that.  The guy’s not playing anything, but it feels so good.”  Nigel has that in our music.  Much more complex, but it’s still the foundation the house is built on, basically.   I believe that Ian wouldn’t sound as good as he sounds doing those different things.

Well, yeah.  It’s about the three of you together; it’s not about the three of you doing music at the same time, if you understand the difference.

I totally get that, yeah!  That’s exactly right.

So we talked about the singles.  And I won’t use the titles for fear that I’ll somehow do them differently again. [Berry laughs] We talked about “Titans”, which like you said is a real sleeper on this album.  At first, you go “This doesn’t sound like them at all.”  And then you go, “Oh, but I like it!”

Well, that’s what we hope!  We don’t know!  You’re the first one that said anything about it, do you believe that?  I’ve done so many interviews.  Crazy.

So what other tracks on Beyond Shadowland are you especially proud of or especially pumped about letting the rest of the world hear?

“OB-li-ex”!  “Ob-il-EEKS”.  And you called it? Say it your way!

I’ve forgotten – oh, “Ob-IL-i-ex”!

See, there’s the problem!  But you know what song I’m talking about, that’s the beauty of it!  [Chuckles] I especially like that song; I like the arrangement of it.  I like that it breaks down; it’s actually a little Fender Rhodes keyboard bass all by itself in a place.  It has four verses; it kind of rambles on a little bit.  But it takes you on this trip, this little path.  And I was really proud of that and I thought that people would be bored with that one, as much as I liked it.  And again, the record company is right; people love it.

The third single, “The Mission” is important to me.  I try to make it positive, even if it’s negative when it starts, there’s something positive that comes out of it.  And “The Mission” are lyrics I wrote about our mission in life.  We can make things happen if we work toward it.  “You are what you think about” kind of stuff.  I’m a real positive lyric writer.  And I’m kind of excited to see how that connects with people.  [There are] a lot of people having problems right now in the world, just because of the way the world is.  It psychologically has beat people up a little bit, and they don’t need that, right?  If you just live your life, and you give more than you get, and you move forward, we’re all OK! 

So “The Mission” is to get to the next thing in your life with a positive attitude, and that positive attitude will take you up the stairway to the next positive attitude.  I just wanna see; I think it’s a really good song.  Glad the record company picked it as the third single.  Again, we’ll see.  People might go, “Ooooooh, darn; I wish it was ‘Ob-i-LEEKS’ again.  ‘OB-li-ex’!  ‘Obi’!  You know, that ‘O’ song!”

“Obi-Wan!”  No.  I was actually gonna talk a bit about the lyrics and the lyrical theme.  Cause in the promo materials, the album release promo was saying – here’s the quote: “why and how to move civilization forward without using the compass provided by the past.”  Now, that’s pretty heavy, and I dig that!  But can you elaborate on that a bit?

I didn’t say that!  Here’s the thing: when I write a song – I’ll show you my phone here.  What do I have here?  I’m working on ideas for the next album.  Here’s my notes; make sure there’s no naked pictures of me in here!  It’s just my notes.  Here’s a song: “The Dilemma.”  There’s a friend of mine going through some stuff that is really tough, life-changing for his family if he gets it right.  That’s a dilemma, right?  So I thought, “oh, that’d be good.” 

I have the song “Live Forever” that we wrote on this.  Then I have the title “Some Live Forever.”  And those are about the people – so far, in my mind, that’s gonna be about the people that have touched us, like my dad.  He will live forever.  And I wanna see, “How do I make that happen for my son, where he remembers my dad for what he did for our family?”  And the kind of guy he was.  And maybe that piece of his genes that are in my son.  It’s a deep song. 

That’s where the lyrics come from.  But every day I’m a different person, so sometimes I’m gonna be right there, able to write that song about what my dad meant to me, or maybe, in a way, what other people have important people in their lives, what they mean to them.  It’s all about a positive outcome in some way, giving more than you get.  I don’t think that we can solve the world’s problems, but we can certainly get people through some of the songs to look at it and say, “Oh, ‘The Arms of a Word!’  Yeah, what we say is really important.”  And we don’t have to say much, but if it’s kind and it’s peaceful.  And we can have an opinion but it needs to be kind and peaceful, no matter if we have a different opinion.  That’s the problem in the world, right?  Clickbait stuff.  There’s some solution in just getting along and knowing that tomorrow’s gonna be here.  

That’s, I guess, where the lyrics are based.  I hate analyzing them too much, cause as you can see I’m a little tongue-tied about it, and I can’t explain it right.  Ian likes to say, “I love it when your lyrics are a little psychedelic!”  Which means, he likes it when I leave it open enough for you to put your meaning into the song.  And maybe have a meaning; maybe I don’t have any meaning to it, I don’t know! [Laughs]

And that’s part of what pulls people in; I would agree with you.  And I think your lyrics are open that way.  That goes back to the whole question of broadening your audience.  I was gonna toss my wife in as a case study.  A dear woman, who I love with all my heart.  Some prog she doesn’t like!  She’s not gonna like the technical, aggressive stuff.  But she’s gonna like the song-based stuff, like some of the later Rush, like Marillion, like Big Big Train.  Those sorts of artists and that sort of lyrical viewpoint.  And you work in a similar vein.

It’s more melodic, for one thing, I think.  I always had a hard time at first with Geddy Lee’s voice, that kinda whiny high thing.  Then I did a Rush tribute album, and I sang couple songs, played stuff on it.  I went, “Whoa, these lyrics!  Oh my God, listen to this!”  Then I went to a Rush show because of it, and I went, “There’s women here – whoa!”  It’s the lyric and the more melodic piece of it you can hang onto.  Big Big Train, a little folky almost.  It’s nice to listen to.  Genesis was like that.

Honestly, in some of the new prog bands, that’s the part of Genesis and Yes that they sort of miss.  There’s something about them you can hang on to, even though it’s not a repeat chorus like Asia would have, let’s say.  I appreciate it that you think that I’m part of that; I wanna be part of that.  I think at times they get criticized for being more melodic; the real prog guys want it to be more out there, more Dream Theater-ish or whatever.  That’s just not me; that’s not what I do.

And that’s not what this band does either.  You take Saga, who’s sort of a pop-progressive band.  And you take Saxon, who’s a heavy metal band.  And you take me, who is heavily influenced by Keith and Carl of course.  And [Yes guitarist] Steve Howe!  The bands I played in with those guys, that’s my roots.  And you sort of [use] that to pull the metal and the prog thing together in the middle somewhere, and that’s what we have.

And it really does become its own thing.  In some ways it’s hard to describe what you guys do, because it really doesn’t sound like anything else.

You know how to say the name of the song?  [Laughs]  See, that’s part of what we do!  It’s not like anything else!  Who has a song you can’t say the name of? [Both laugh]

I did want to share my impressions of the album with you.  I think it really works as a start-to-finish album, just like the debut did.  But I also think, starting with “Titans”, maybe even a little before that, there’s a lotta change-ups like you’ve said.  Nigel seems to bring some techno elements in, tribal elements in.  The grooves go to different places; the textures are really unpredictable in a good way, cause they always get appealing as they go from bit to bit.  And the other thing I notice about your songwriting is, you’re not always “verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge”; sometimes you’ll flip those elements around.  For me this album got more creative the farther in you went.  I really liked, for example, “Can’t Live Like This”; I really like “Sympathize.”  I thought “One Step” was just wonderful because it went all over the place.  I just think there’s a lot of things on this album that, when people hear the whole thing, they’re gonna go, “Wow!  I just did not realize the range these guys have.”

Well, that is the best endorsement for this album I’ve ever heard, in the way I’d like to hear it.  Which is what’s nice.  You don’t wanna say, “Oh, so what do you think of that song?   You know that song does this.”  And then they go, “Oh yeah, ‘Titans’, I remember.”  You’re saying some really important stuff about this album.

I think that the reason I was worried about “OB-il-leeks”, “OB-li-ex”, “OB-eeks” was I didn’t think people would give a chance to that guitar solo that’s so raw but beautiful, because it’s slower.  I feel that way about the whole album: if somebody will sit back, maybe give it the second listen, because there is a lot.  It’s like a movie that has a whole lot going on, and somebody says, “Oh, remember when they stabbed that guy?”  “They stabbed that guy?”  Cause there’s so much going on you don’t remember every piece of it, right?  I think this is an album that people can live with a bit and be entertained after the second, third, fourth listen even.  Where the first listen there’s some things they’ll like, and some things that are just gonna go right by them!  That’s a good thing unless people don’t have enough care about Ian, Nigel and myself to say, “Well, these guys are good.  I gotta listen to this again.”  Am I making sense?  I think it has that.  You need to listen twice, which you have obviously, and you got into it deep.  But you’re that kind of guy anyway; you care about music.

And it did take some patience, I will admit.  It’s a grower; that’s how I would talk about it in one word.  And I will!  You’re right; it’s what I do on principle.  I give stuff multiple chances, because it’s like, “These guys have put their heart and soul into it.  And if I’m paying money for it, I wanna get my money’s worth out of it.”  And I definitely will, when I pick up my copy.  So thank you for that.

Well, thank you.  You make sure your wife listens to Dream Theater a little bit more, and it’ll bring peace at home! [Both laugh]

So you mentioned touring.  And I know that the way the touring business works, you can’t say definite things until there’s something definite.  But it sounds like you see some momentum building on that front.  Is there?

Yep.  We needed anchor dates. We have two in Germany, one in the Netherlands now that are anchor dates.  The US I’m working on myself, the anchor date for the US.  And I don’t know how big we can do in the US, but I’d like to do three or four shows here somewhere.

We’ve been on the radio in Puerto Rico all year, top 10!

Oh, wow!

It’s off the first album; it’s been crazy!  They really want us there; we’ll probably do a show there.  Just one, maybe two.  I said, “Well, can’t we do two?”  Puerto Rico’s gotta be big enough, whatever coasts they have, gotta be able to do two shows.

It’s looking really good!  We do have the three dates that are locked in.  I can’t say what they are, because they wanna make this big blast.  But the good news is – well, I don’t know if it’s good news!  I’m taking a week in Mexico next week, in Cabo.  We have a place there, just got finished, my wife and I, Rebecca.  Gonna be the first time; we’re gonna go see it for the first time and get the keys, right?  So we’re excited!

When I come home, I have at least an album and a half of material of SiX by SiX that I have to be able to perform like Geddy Lee onstage, bass pedals, keyboards, bass guitar and singing.  And I need to start working now, because September we’re going to Germany! [Laughs]  It’s gonna be – phew!  This is gonna be the heaviest performance I’ve ever done.  I’m ready for it; I’m not afraid of doing it.  But the motor memory that it’s gonna take me, because of the multiple – two arms, two legs, they’re all gonna be doing something different, and I’m singing!  I wish I had Geddy’s number; I’d say, “what the hell?  Are you doing acid, LSD?  How are you doing this?”

Yeah, rubbing your head, patting your tummy and chewing gum!]

I didn’t pat my head, see?  Already I missed it! [Laughs]

I know what you’re saying.  So that’s great to hear – hopefully in the fall there are gonna be some dates that can be a foundation of something else going on.  I know that Europe is, in some ways – it’s not necessarily a better market, but it’s definitely a more compact market to play than the US.  Because you can’t cover the whole country; you can’t find a 40-date tour.  Especially as you’re just starting out to build a touring base like you guys are.

Yeah, we figure we can do 500-seaters here.  And we only wanna do 500-seaters there, cause we wanna sell them out.  To think that each of us can’t draw a hundred people easily, that’s 300.  So we know we can sell out these venues.  But still, there’s a crew, there’s a bus, there’s a truck, there’s hotel rooms, that the venues pay for when you’re playing, but in-between you pay for.  And the crew and everybody.  It’s really the off days that are gonna determine how successful the tour is.  Last year we tried to do one; there was five days in between a couple gigs.  That would have broke us.  You’ve got people hanging, doing nothing, and that’s never good, that’s a bad thing.  Musicians doing nothing?  They’re out there getting in trouble!  You know how that goes.

Well, that is great news and I’m certainly gonna keep my eyes peeled for that.  But in the meantime the album’s out in a few weeks, and hopefully this interview will spread the word; I’m looking forward to reviewing it.  Is there anything else you’d like to share with the folks who stop by Progarchy about what’s coming up this year for SiX by SiX?

I have to say, first of all, your take on the whole album and the band is so spot on; that’s encouraging in a way.  We’re gonna do it anyway; we love this band, we all get along, we’re gonna do it!  But to have validation, let’s say, that it’s reaching out to people that are – very critical, by the way! [Laughs]  Yeah, you!  I’m talking about you!

Just call me persnickety!

Persnickety, there you go!  That’s what we want; we want the people to really listen and understand, to spread the words honestly.  If you’re saying, “yeah, good album, I appreciate your time”, no one’s gonna buy that!  The people that watch you, listen to you, they’re gonna know if you’re being honest or not.  And that helps spread the word, as you just said.  Let’s hope that they do go to YouTube, check out “OB-il-leeks”, “OB-li-ex”. I like “OB-li-ex”  better, but there’s no L after the B!  And see what they think, leave a comment, let us know!  If you don’t like it, leave that comment.  It all means something to me as the guy that glues us all together. 

We appreciate so far what’s been said, and the open arms.  People are saying, “I think the scene needed a band like this!  We like the combination of the styles and everything.”  And it’s like they’re saying, “We want you to be successful; we really do!”  That isn’t usually the way it goes in the music business!  The competition, the naysayers, the critics, they want to find something. They call us a supergroup; we don’t consider [ourselves] a supergroup.  We’re three different guys from different styles of music coming together and doing something we love to do.  And it’s fun, and we think it works!  And I appreciate the support of everybody, really.  Especially for me, I spend thousands and thousands of hours being the glue for this thing.  And I just love it when people buy into it on a level that it’s deep like you, with the lyrics and with the arrangements.  I mean, hello?  It doesn’t get better than that, right?

I know that’s what every musician hopes for, someone to really connect with what they’re doing.  And I think you guys have that kind of music that’s heading our way. So, I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a copy of Beyond Shadowland when it comes out; I wish you all the best with it, and thanks for checking in again and talking with me.  I really appreciate it!

I appreciate your time, and the third album’s gonna be in another year, so we’ll be speaking again at least by then.  Maybe sooner!

Perhaps we’ll have all agreed on a pronunciation by then!  Maybe not.

You think, I think it’s unique that we don’t! [Laughs]  I think it maybe is a good thing!  I think we should have a contest!  Winner takes the name!

Well, there’s a thought!  And just do it a different way every night on the tour and see which one catches on!

Exactly! [Laughs].  It’d be interesting! “You know what song we’re doing next?”  And everybody can yell it out!

There we go.  Well, thanks a lot, Robert!

And thank you, man; appreciate it and we’ll talk again.

Alright.

(Beyond Shadowland is out April 26th, available from any good music retailer or direct from InsideOutMusic.)

— Rick Krueger